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Social Cultures In The 1920's The Great Gatsby

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I think that there are many points in both the novel and the movie I have studied in which the cultural context and the social norms of the time are shown clearly and impact upon the characters in the novel. The Great Gatsby was written and is set in the 1920's, known as the 'Roaring Twenties' or the Jazz Age, which began soon after World War I and ended with the 1929 stock market crash. I'm Not Scared was released in 2003 but was set in 1978 in Italy, which was during a time of corruption and violence. The 'Years of Lead' took place during the 1970's and was marked by a wave of incidents of left-wing and right-wing political terrorism. There was widespread social conflict and unprecedented acts of criminality (including kidnappings). Women's …show more content…

This was the time of 'flappers' who were the re-invented women of the 20's. They didn't conform to the social norms at the time and rebelled against what was traditionally thought acceptable. The 20's was an important time for women when they finally gained the right to vote. This signified the changing times and the new attitudes towards women in America at the time. They also began to wear their hair short in bobs and wear short dresses and flashy jewelry. In I'm Not Scared, the women in Acqua Traverse lead very traditional lives and the audience can tell that the town is patriarchal and that gender roles are enforced throughout the movie. Women do not play a dominant role. Anna and the other women of the village are not consulted concerning the tactics of the kidnapping, although they help in keeping it a secret. They have little option but to go along with whatever the men decide. Women in the movie are responsible for looking after the home and the children. Skull's brother Felice is shown to have little or no respect for women when he attempts to attack Michele's

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The era of 1920s is known for flapper dresses, extravagant lifestyles, and reformation of women. Before this time, women were treated as property and did not have their own voices in politics and their personal lives. With the start of the 20th century, women yearned for a change. They wore shorter dresses, became more reckless, and took control of their lives. F. Scott Fitzgerald was a renowned author during the 1920s who provided commentary about the changes of women.

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The flapper represented the “modern woman” in American youth culture in the 1920’s, and was epitomized as an icon of rebellion and modernity. Precocious, young, stubborn, beautiful, sexual, and independent, the flapper image and ideology revolutionized girlhood. The term “flapper” originated in England to describe a girl who flapped and had not yet reached maturity.

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The 1920s was a time of exhilarating progress in both economic and social areas of society. Prohibition increased the appeal of drinking, creating a booming nightlife industry. People were eager for entertainment, enjoying widespread professional sports and interesting new inventions, like the creation of film and the automobile. Women had just gained the right to vote from the 1920 19th amendment, and were proud to claim their rights. Flappers were young, lively women who contributed to the roar of the 1920s by dressing differently and participating in risky, enjoyable activities previously reserved for men.

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After the 19th amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote, woman began leaving behind their traditional roles and taking on new responsibilities, fashion trends and claiming their independence.(Doc 5.The New Woman). The younger generation of ladies in the 1920s surfaced into what is know as a flapper. Flappers listened to jazz music, embraced risqué fashion trends, and took part in bold behavior, which challenged their stereotype and led to more tension. The need breed of woman wanted to be accepted by the older generation, who often judged and disagreed with their new lifestyle. (doc 6.

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The Roaring Twenties, known as the decade of the 1920s in the Western World, consists of dramatic changes in social values. The cultural differences between the 1920s and the Victorian era changes people's behavior, where they become more free-will, youthful and carefree, despite of being more conservative before. People are more open-minded and found satisfaction through the “open pursuit of sex, money, and booze” (Berman 53) as they suggest their wealth and status in the society. New York City had become one of the cities where materialistic wealth has become the key of happiness and the standard to judge people's success, further leading Americans to pursue each other in a negative, acquisitive way. Through the different scenes and characters of the famous novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores how the society twisted the original idea of

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Breaking Social Boundaries The era of the 1920s was a pinnacle time in American History and the literature that was produced from this era showcases the social change happening. This was the time of social upheaval where the people were challenging social boundaries. The values that had been sought after in the period before this were becoming less and else prevalent in the new society. There are many viewpoints of this time period so the literature of this time was very diverse and many works showed the changing cultures.

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Despite this, women were able to make a huge impact on America through social reforms. Many young women went against the beliefs of their parents. Prior to the Roaring Twenties, America was in a Victorian era. Women wore dresses that were floor-length, their hair was long and premarital sex was almost non-existent. During the 1920’s however, some women became what are known as “flappers”.

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In this aspect, the 1920s were one of the most influential decades in U.S. history because of the introduction of the "New Women". "New Women," or flappers, were young women who embraced the new ideas, freedoms, and modernism of the Roaring Twenties. Flappers wore new and popular clothing from the era. Their signature look was short "bob" hair, which represented their independence to men. A majority of flappers were women's suffrage activist.

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In The Great Gatsby, we learn more and more about the characters, Gatsby and Nick, as the story unravels deeper. Although these characters seem to have many differences, they have more in common than recognized. Throughout the novel, we see some corresponding traits between Gatsby and Nick. Despite these two having somewhat indistinguishable attitudes towards women and desires, they differ in their class, and their outlook and temperament. Gatsby and Nick in a way have the same desire and approach towards women.

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The American Dream is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success, prosperity, and social mobility through hard work, determination, and initiative. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby attempts to achieve social mobility but ultimately fails due to the constructs of old vs new money. An argument is shown that the American Dream is just that, a dream, and that happiness cannot be achieved through wealth. In the novel, the super poor are stuck in their social class, unable to move because they live in the valley of ashes, which represents poverty and the corruption and social decay that came with the lavish and careless lifestyles of the rich.

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The Great Gatsby GEOGRAPHY Throughout the novel, places and settings symbolize the various aspects of the 1920s American society that Fitzgerald depicts. East Egg represents the old aristocracy, West Egg the newly rich, the valley of ashes the moral and social decay of America, and New York City the dissolute, amoral quest for money and pleasure. Additionally, the East is connected to the moral decay and social cynicism of New York, while the West is connected to more traditional social values and ideals. Themes: The American Dream "Whereas the American Dream was once equated with certain principles of freedom, it is now equated with things.

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The impact of truth and morality by one’s social class How does one’s social class affect one’s honesty and morality? In the book, Fitzgerald makes commentary on various themes, such as the American dream and the passing of time and so on. Of the various themes being illustrate, none is more developed as the impact of social class on one’s moral identity. The book offers vivid peak into the everyday society in time period of the Jazz age. The idea of one’s morality due to one’s identity is being illustrated and explored in the book, as the author, Scott Fitzgerald suggests that honesty and morality are interconnected with one’s authority and social status.

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F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his book The Great Gatsby, exposes the effect of classism on the ability to achieve the American Dream. In this book, Daisy loved Gatsby prior to Tom but didn’t want to commit to Gatsby on account of him being in the lower middle class. Gatsby decides to become a bootlegger in order to advance in the social class and to win over his dream girl, Daisy. Gatsby and Daisy have a little rendezvous but it does not go beyond that because Daisy knows that Gatsby may not be able to provide her a stable life. In the end, Gatsby dies before he could have achieved his idea of the American Dream.

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Class status has to do with a series of different aspects that relate to the degree of luxury in terms of wealth and lifestyle. From a generic viewpoint, class refers to a wealth concept that characterizes your lifestyle, assets, and family income. Although there are three generic categories for assessing one’s level of wealth (lower, middle, and upper class), is it possible for there to be a significant fluctuation in amount of wealth over a long period of time that culminates to a change in lifestyle? This question is one of the central themes of a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald known as The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a key character in this book that attained a lot of wealth throughout their lives, but passed away by the completion of the story.

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In The Great Gatsby, social status is a significant element in the book as it separates the haves from the have nots. However more importantly, social status portrays the personalities of people belonging to different classes. In the end, you are stuck in the class you are born into, and attempting to change classes only leads to tragedy and heartbreak.     In The Great Gatsby, there are three main social classes portrayed. These are old money, new money, and no money.

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